Dyestuffs of the dibenzanthrone series and process of preparing the same



Patented June 25, 1935 UNITED STATES,

SERIES AND PROCESS THE SAME 0F} PREPARING I Otto Stallmann, South Milwaukeaf wis assignor to E. I. du Pont de Nemours:& Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware;

No Drawing. Application February'27, 1933, Series No. 658,833] v This invention relates to novel I dyestuffs-of the dibenzanthrone series, and deals vmore par ticularly with novel compounds obtained from certain mono-alkyl ethers of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone, as are more fully defined below. The novel products can be used directly asvat dyestuffs, or they may be converted by further treatment into acid wool or silk dyestuffsor again into dyestuffs suitable for dyeing cellulose-acetate fibers.

It is an object of this invention to obtain, from certain mono-alkyl ethers of dihydroxydibenzanthrone, a novel type of valuable vat dyestuffs, in the preparation of which there is involved only one alkyl residue, and which producebluishgreen dyeings of excellent fastness properties, especially to alkali, acid and light. This is a surprising result in view of the fact that monoalkyl ethers of dihydroXy-dibenzanthrone as disclosed in literature dye cotton in blue shades and are not fast to alkali and to light, due probably to the presence of a free hydroxy group;

It is a further object of this invention to obtain new valuable vat dyes from certain monoalkyl ethers of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone in a simple economic way Without employing any fur-. ther alkylating or arylating agents otherwisenecessary for the purpose of etherifying the free hydroxy group. 1 v

A still further object of this invention'is to obtain novel vat dyes of the Jade Green series; which possess remarkable stability in concentrated sulfuric acid even at elevated temperatures, and can be readily purified by crystrallization from sulfuric acid. r

A still further object of this invention isto prepare novel derivatives of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone which, due totheir high stability in concentrated sulfuric acid and nitric acid even at elevated temperatures can be sulfonated, nitrated, chlorinated, oxidized, or otherwise further modified whereby to obtain from these derivatives novel acid dyestuffs for W001 and silk or dyestuffs adapted for dyeing cellulose acetate material. It will be observed thatheretofore dyestuffs of the Jade Green series were unavailable for the dyeing of W001 and silk because the required high alkalinity of the vat is generally detrimental to animal fibers. On the other hand; solubilizing the dyestuffs by sulfonation results in hydrolysis of the ether groups, which changes the shade of the dyestuff and tends to destroy its fastness properties. I I

Other and further important objects'of this invention will appear as the description proceeds;

In-"UX-S. application Serial No. 549,092, filed July 6, 5931, by Edward T. Howell and myself asiointi inventors, there is disclosed the preparation-of "the mono-isopropyl ether of dihydroxydibenzanthrone by the action of isopropyl-bro-- mide on the soda salt of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone or by reacting under mild conditions (comparatively low temperature) with p-toluene-sulfo-isopropyl ester on the soda salt of dihydroxy -dibenzanthrone in dichlorobenzene suspension. I v Q I In analogous manner the mono-isobutyl ether of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone may be prear da ,I have now I ether of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone, for instance, the mono-isopropyl or mono-isobutyl ether above mentioned, is heatec Leither in suspension or in solution, in a high-boiling inert organic liquid S cha; dichlorobenzene, preferably under alka-; line conditon's, for instance, in the presence oi fused} sodium-acetate or soda ash, the compound undergoes a peculiar transformation and yieldsfound that when a mono-isoalkyl;

a new'chemicalcompoundwhich is of an en" tirely different crystalline structure and. of a distinctly difierent chemical nature than the i n i tial material. I I The, product is characterized by unusual fastness properties. Its fastness to light and to alkalidistinguishes it from the initial material,,and is found tobe even superior to that of 'monomethyl -mono-isopropyl diether of dihydroxy-di benzanthrone, described in said copending appli cationser, No;. ,549,()92. Its fastness to'acid is particularlyremarkable and finds noparallel any known. ether :of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone.

Jade Green dimethoxy-dibenzanthrone) and re-;

lated compounds hydrolyze when treated with sulfuric acid and give the free dihydroXy-dibenr, zanthrone. My novel compounds, however, are stable underthe highly acid conditions requiredfor. sulfonation or nitration.

.,M-y novel compounds are also stable in an aluminum chloride; melt, and may be subjected to fusion-withaluminum chloride (or othermets a1, halide condensing agents) in the presence of aroylhalides serving the purpose'of introducing aryl :ketonic': groups into the dibenzanthrone nucleus. i The mechanism and'nature of the above transformation rare-not clearly understood. Taking all. factors into consideration, it would appear that: during theheating, the free OH group: is eliminated together with one hydrogen atom from the 'isoalkyl radical, the latter very probably 2 joining bonds with the dibenzanthrone ring to form a pyrane ring. If this theory is correct the reaction probably proceeds along the following lines:

(R=H or alkyl) The pyrane ringin the product formula has been surrounded for emphasis by a dottedline. It will be understood, however, that I do not wish to limit my invention to any articular theory,'but inserted the same here merely to betterexplain the nature of the observed facts. Of thesefacts, in addition to those already mentioned, the'following are worthy of note.

I have found that'the speed" of transformation can be considerably accelerated by effecting the heating in the presenceof high-boiling, heavy molecular alkylating or aralkylating agents. As examples of suchagents thefollowing may be mentioned: ethylene dibromide, dichlorhydrin, monochlorhydrin, diphenyl-dichloro-methane, dibromo-stilbene, benzal chloride, benzaldehyde, fiuorenone-dichloride, w-dibromo-methyl-anthraquinone, and others. It willbe notedthat each of these agents possesses at least one aliphatic carbonatom which carries an exchangeable ester group (halogen atoms or an oxygen atom), and is potentially capableof forming an ether by neutralizing the free hydroxyl group of the 'dibenzanthrone compound. Just why these additional agents shouldbehave in this manner is very difficult to explain or to prove. It does seem probable, however, that these agents form a transitory ether with the free OH group of the mono-alkylated dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone, and then split oif together with the oxygen atom, and lead to the formation of the pyrane ring. In any event, regardless of theory, -I have found that where the heating of mono isopropyl-dihydroxydibenzanthrone in a suitable solvent, say dichloroben'zene, in the presence of fused sodium acetate, but in the absence of the above catalyzers, required about 20 to 30 hours for complete transformation, the addition of a high-boiling, heavy molecular alkylating agent reduced the transformation time to abouti2 to 3 hours. In other words, the additional alkylating agent appears to act as a true catalyst in'this reaction.

The presence .ofan alkaline agent such as sodium acetate or carbonate is not essential for transformation. Its function is merely to keep the mono-alkyl ether from decomposing under the influence of the high temperature. v In other words, absence of an alkaline medium is not fatal to the reaction, but causes the yield of the product to be low, due to decomposition of the initial material.

The temperature of the transformation may vary within wide limits. It should not be below about 150 C., but above this limit it may vary considerably, depending on the boiling point of the solvent or vehicle selected. Commonly available high boiling solvents usually have a boiling point between 170 and 220 C.- It is clear, therefore, that under practical working conditions the temperature will seldom rise above 220 0. However, the same solvents as well as lower boiling solvents may be used under pressure, if desired,

in which case the temperature may be allowed to go higher, thereby accelerating the rate of 1 reaction.

The solvent selected should be one capable of dissolving the initial material, mono-isoalkylparts are given by weight, will serve to illustrate my preferred mode of operation.

PREPARATION or MY NOVEL COMPOUNDS Example 1 20 parts of the mono-isopropyl ether of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone and 20 parts of pulverized,

fused sodium acetate are suspended in 400 parts of dry dichlorbenzene. The mass is heated under agitation to l75-l80 o. and kept at this temperature (gentle reflux) until a spot test on filter paper has changed from a deep blue to a bluish green coloration and the initial blue plates or cubes of mono-isopropyl ether, as viewed under the microscope, have given way to long, slender needles. This change will generally come about after some 20 to 30 hours of heating. The reactionproduct is then filtered off at 100-120 C. and freed from adhering dichlorobenzene and inorganic salts by steam distilling the filter cake free of solventand isolating the product by filtration.

Alternatively, the original filter cake may be washed free of dichlorobenzene with alcohol, and then alkali free with hot water, and dried. The product thus obtained may be further purified according to the procedures described in Examples 7 and 8. 7

Example 2 p Example 3 The procedure is the same as in Example 1, except that the heating is carried out in the presence of 5 to 10 parts of a divalent alkylating agent selected from the following group:

Monochlorohydrin Dichlorohydrin (CH2Cl-CH--OH-CH2C1) and Ethylene dibromide (CH2Br-CH2 Br) The reaction is completed in 6 to 8 hours at gentle reflux. The reaction product .is'substantially identical with that of Example 1.

Example 4 10 parts of the mono-isopropyl ether of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone are suspended in 400parts of dry dichlorobenzene. Thereare then added 10 parts of pulverized fused sodium'acetate, 10' parts of dry soda ash, and 20 parts of p,p'-dibromo-benzophenone-dichloride The mass is heated under agitation to -180 0., allowing a small amount of water to distill oif, and kept at gentle reflux for about 4 to 5 hours or until a spot test on filter paper gives a bluish green coloration. The reaction product, consisting of well defined long needles, is filtered off at about 150 C. and isolated as per Example 1. It is practically free of organic bound halogen and is substantially identical with the product of Example 1.

As a further modification of this example there may be used diphenyl-dichloro-methane or dibromo-stilbene instead of the dibromo-benzophenone-dichloride. In each case the reaction is complete in 4 to 6 hours and the reaction product appears to be identically the same.

Example 5 10 parts of mono-isopropyl ether of dihydroxydibenzanthrone are suspended in 200 parts of trichlorobenzene. There are thenadded 10 parts of dry soda ash and themass is agitated at 200 C. for about 24 hours or until thereaction is complete as indicated by the bluish-green Yspotf test on filter paper. The product. is thenisolated as in Example 1, and is substantially identical with the product of Example 1, except that it contains a small amount of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone from which it can be freed by one of the purification methods described in Example 7 and 8.

Example 6 V 1 part of the mono-isopropyl; ether of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone is dissolved in 20 parts molten naphthalene and the solution is heated to 200-210 C. for 8-10 hours. The mixture is then cooled to about 100 0., and 50 parts of solvent naphtha are added. The precipitate is filtered off, washed with a little alcohol and dried. The major part of the reaction product, thus obtained, consists of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone. But an appreciable amount of the crude product is soluble in hot trichlorobenzene, and may be recovered by heating the entire mass in this solvent, filtering at about 100-120 C., cooling the filtrate to room temperature, and precipitating out the product by adding an equalvolume of alcohol'. The reaction product thus isolated'is identical with the purified product of Example 1.

PURIFICATION or AND PROPERTIES Example 7 10 parts of the dry reaction product as obtained inExamples 1 to 5 are dissolved in 200 parts of concentrated sulfuric acid (93%). There are then dropped in slowly, over a period of 2 to 3 hours, 33 parts of water, while keeping the temperature at 50 to 60 C. The mass is then stirred at room temperature for about 15 hours, during which time the sulfate of the novel reaction product crystallizes out in the form of large brownish plates. The mass is then filtered, and the filter cake is washed with about 200 parts of sulfuric acid (78%) and then with cold water until free of acid. By this water washing the sulfate is hydrolyzed to bluish-green crystals with a pronounced metallic luster.

Example 8 10 parts of the dry reaction product as obtained in Examples 1 to 5 are suspended in 1000 parts trichlorobenzene. The-mass is heated to about 200 C. and then filtered at this temperature. The filtrate is allowed to cool to room temperature and the precipitate is filtered ofi, washed with alcohol until free of trichlorobenzene, and dried. I

PROPERTIES The purified product obtained in Example 7 or 8 is a reddish-blue or bluish-green crystalline solid, depending on the size of the particles, and possesses a pronounced metallic luster.

It is practically insoluble in Water, alcohol and cold glacial acetic acid or benzene. It is soluble,

however, in hot high-boiling organic solvents, such as nitrobenzene, dichlorobenzene, trichlorobenzene, and naphthalene with a deepgreenishblue color in transmitted light, showing a pronounced red fluorescence in reflected light.

'It is soluble in concentrated sulfuric acid with out eifecting. any decomposition or hydrolyzation of the product, as shown by test dyeings on cotton.

The product is readily vatted in warm dilute alkaline hydrosulfite to a bluish-violet vat, in transmitted light, with a pronounced red fluorescence, and appears almost red, unless care is.

taken to exclude reflected light. Cottonv is dyed from this vat in blue shades which change to a bright bluish green, when exposed to air. These dyeings possess excellent fastness properties.

FURTHER EXAMPLES OF PREPARATION Example 9 10. parts of the mono-isobutyl ether of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone (obtained by reacting on the soda salt of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone with isobutylbromide under substantially the same reaction conditions as employed for'the corresponding isopropyl derivative in copending application" Ser. No. 549,092) and 10 parts of pulverized fused THE PRODUCTS or EXAMPLES l-Ei dichlorobenzene. The mass is then heated under agitation to 175-180 C. and kept at this temperature until a small test portion, isolated from the the same in every detail as those of the corresponding' isopropyl derivative, except that the shade produced in dyeings on cotton is somewhat bluer than the shade produced by the isopropyl derivative.

. inorganic salts.

The starting material in the above examples was the isolated pure mono-isopropyl or monoisobutyl' ether of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone. It is not necessary, however, to isolate this starting material, but the transformation reaction may be combined 1. with the mono-iso-alkylation of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone. This procedure is illustrated in the following examples.

Example 10 50 parts of dry, pulverized soda salt of dihyzdroxy-dibenzanthrone (prepared by pasting up' 34 parts of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone with 16 parts of soda ash and water to a smooth paste, drying at C. and pulverizing) 20 parts of dry soda ash and 10 parts of pulverized fused sodium acetate are suspended in 250 parts of isopropyl bromide. The charge is heated under agitation in alead lined autoclave to -l30 C. and kept at this temperature for 24 hours.- The excess of isopropyl bromide is now distilled off and the residue heatedfurther to, C'. To the dry residue there are now added 1000 parts of dry dichlorobenzene, the mass is stirred for 1 hour at C., allowing a small amount of lower boiling liquids (-isopropyl bromide "and hydrolyzation products'thereof) to distill off. The mass is then filtered as hot as possible (about 150160 C.),' to separate the soluble mono-isopropyl ether of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone from the unchanged insoluble dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone '(Na salt) and To the filtrate are added 10 parts of pulverized fused sodium acetate and the mass is agitated at 175180 C. for about 30 hours, until the spot test on filter paper has changed from a deep blue to a bluish green. The well crystallized reaction product is now filtered ofi at 100-120 C. and the product is isolated as in Example 1, and may be further purified according to the procedures described;

As a further modification of this invention it should be noted that it is not necessary to remove the alkylation agent which has been employed for the mono-alkylationof dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone. Instead, the transformation reaction may be carried out in the presence of the sodium acetate are dissolvedin400 parts dry "Example 11 50 parts of dry, pulverized soda salt of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone, prepared as described in Example 10 and 20 parts of dry soda ash, are

suspended in 1000 parts dry dichlorobenzene.

c1 c6H4-cc12 c6Hi-c1) and. the mass is heated to reflux (175-180" C.)

for about 3-4 hours, or until the orginally deep blue spot test on filter paper has changed to a bluish green coloration. The reaction product is then filtered off at about 120 C. and isolated as described in Example 1. 'It consists mostly of the acid-stable transformation product identical with the product of Example 1. To a smaller extent, however, there has been formed some di-isopropyl ether of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone, which may be readily hydrolyzed back to the dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone by dissolv-- ing the crude reaction product of this example in concentrated sulfuric acid. The transformation product remains unchanged in this treatment, and may be separated from the dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone and isolated in a high degree of purity by extracting the mass with a high boiling organic solvent at elevated temperature, for instance, hot nitrobenzene. i

As a still further modification it should be noted that the mono-alkylation of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone may be carried out as described inthe first paragraph of Example 11, except that only .onehalf the amount of para-toluene-sulfo-isopropyl ester is used. In this case practically all the alkylating agent is used up in the mono-alkylation step, and the transformation reaction may be carried out in the same reaction mass without the addition of a divalentalkylating agent as catalyzer.

In the above examples, instead of the mono isopropyl ether, the mono ether of dihydroxydiben'zanthrone and any other'alkyl or cyclo- Isoamyl and cyclohexyl are additional examples of such alkyl groups.

, Other details such as regarding temperature and time of reaction as Well as regards to solvents may be varied without departing from of the invention.

FURTHER TREATMENT or THE TRANSFORMATION PRODUCT The following additional examples will illustrate various modes of operation for converting my novel transformation product into nuclear substitution derivatives thereof, for the purpose of producing novel wool, silk, or'cellulose-acetatedyestuffs. Alternatively, my novel compounds may be substituted in the nucleus with neutral substituents, such as halogen or nitro groups, I which may vary the shade of the dyestuif slightly,

the spirit mo em but do not afiect its adaptation for use as avat dyestuif for cotton.

Example 12 for 1 /2 hours at 20-30 C. and then poured into 3000 parts of cold water. The precipitate is filtered off; the filter cake is sucked as dry as possible and then charged into 'a suificient amount of dilute soda ash solution to obtain finally a neutral paste consisting of the. soda salt of the novel sulfo acid, sodium sulfate and water. The green paste thus obtained may be used directly for dyeing wool or silk according to the dyeing procedures employed usually for sulfonated wool or silk colors, or the paste may be dried at 1'00 C. and pulverized to a green powder. The bright greenish shades obtained with either the paste or the powder on wool andsilk show excellent fastness properties, especially toward acids, alkalies and light.

The sulfonation may also be carried out using 600 parts 5% oleum at the same temperature or 150 parts 60% oleum at 5-10 C.

In either case the resulting sulfoacid is apparently equal in shade and general properties to the product obtained with 25% oleum, although the degree of sulfonation may vary with the amount and strength of the oleum and the temperature employed.

The sulfonated product dyes cotton in yellowish green shades from a bluish vat, which, unlike the starting material, does not show any fluorescence.

Example 13 5 parts of the product of Example 7 are dissolved in 100 parts of sulfuric acid (monohydrate). 5 parts of fuming nitric acid (97%). are dropped in very slowly over a period of 2 hours, keeping the temperature at 20-25 C. The solution of the nitro body, thus obtained, which shows a very deep green coloration, is then poured into 1000 parts cold water, the precipitate is filtered off, washed acid free and pasted up with a small amount of water to a smooth paste. The latter dyes cotton from a blue vat in green shades, which upon treatment with bleach change to a gray to .black of good fastness properties.

The filter cake as obtained above may be dried at 100 C. The product, which according tothe nitrogen analysis, is substantially a mono-nitro compound, may be sulfonated with 25% oleum to a green sulfo acid, which dyes wool and silk in bluish green shades. Nitration of 5 parts of the same starting material, suspended in 100 parts nitrobenzene with 10 parts of fuming nitric acid (97%) at -90 C., furnished a dinitro derivative which dyes cotton in similar shades as the mononitro compound.

Example 14 One-half of the color paste of the mononitro compound, as obtained in Example 13 is vatted at 55-60 C. in 500 parts of water, containing 5 parts of caustic soda and 5 parts of sodium hydro sulfite. The amino body thus obtained is precipitated .by air blowing, filtered off,. washed alkali free, dried and pulverized tea/green powder. I

Stilfonation of this material with 25% oleum givesa greensulfo acid which dyes wool and silk:

. iII'bllIiShr green shades.

Example 15 1. partof the dryyamino bodyas obtained in Example 14'. is heated in 10 parts phthalic-an hydride toreflux. The melt is then poured into; 200 parts of hot. water, the precipitate is filtered ofli, washed with about parts of boiling water, dried andpulverized.

The product thus obtained, which is probablythe phthalide of theaminobody, dyes cotton from a blue vat in brightyellowish-green shades.

Example 16' I 5 partsof the product obtained in Example 7 are suspended in300- parts of trichlorobenzene containing 10 parts of liquid bromine. The mass is heated" under agitation slowly over a. period of I hour to 100C. The temperature is kept for 1 hour at 100 C'. and then raised to -150" C. and

the mass is stirred until the starting material (bluish cubes) has been transformed completely into uniform small needles as ascertained bymicroscopic exami-natior i. This requires usually about 2 hours heating at 140-150" C. The reac tion product is then, filteredoff at about 100 C. and washed free of'solvent with a small amount of alcohol. The product thus obtained contains the theoretical amount of bromine corresponding to a tribromo derivative. It is a bluish green crystalline powder, which dyes cott0n, from a blue vat with pronounced red fluorescence, in green shades of excellent fastness properties. Sulfonation of the product with 25% oleumfurnishes a green wool and silk dyeof somewhat yello'wer-gre'enish shades than the uribrominated body. Example 17 2 parts of the tribromo derivatives as obtained in Example 16 are dissolved in 10parts of sulfuric acid of 96% strength, at 20-25? C. There are then added at this temperature '2 parts of manganese dioxide and. the mass is stirred for 10-12 hours until the well defined reaction product crystallizes out of solution] The mass, is now pouredinto about 200 parts of cold water, 'containing 5 parts of sodium bisulfite. It is heated to 90-9590. and the precipitate is filtered off, washedacid freeand dried.

The product thus obtained appears to be a monobromoedihydroxy derivative, and dyes cot ton from a blue vat 'in'greenish gray shades, which change with acid to 'a bluish gray. The product can be methylatedwith dimethyl-sulfate in nitroben'zene in the presence of soda ash to a blue methyl ether which dyescotton from a blue Example '19 2 parts of the product obtained in Example 7 are stirred into 50-partssulfuric acid (93%).

There is then addedat 15-2 0f" 011' art or man ganese dioxide and the mass isstirred at 15-20-C.

The mass is heated to C., the'r'eaction product is filtered off, washed acid-free and dried. Y'I'he hydroxy body thus obtained dyes cotton from a blue vat in yellowish green shades; which tum slightly blue with acids. The product may be sulfonated with 25% oleum to a greensulfo acid which dyes wool and silk in much yellower green shades than the sulfonated starting material.

' Example 20 2 parts of the product obtained in Example 8 are stirred into 10 parts of sulfuric acid (98%), and about 2 parts of chlorine gas are passed into the, mass at 20-25 C. within a period of about 1 hours; The solution is then poured into a. large '0? amount of cold water, the chloro derivative is filtered off, washed acid free and dried. The product thus obtained dyes cotton from a blue vat in much yellower green shades'than theunchlorinated starting material.

"Sulfonation of the product furnishes a wool and silk green of a yellowish green shade.

Example '21 I 1 part of the chloro derivative as obtained in Example 20, and 50 parts of sulfuric acid Of 96% strength and 3 parts of boric acid are heated to 170-180 C. for about 1 hour, until the formation of hydrochloric acid gas, which begins to escape from the reaction mass at about 160 C.,ispractically complete. The mass is then'cooled f to about 100 C. and poured into a large amount of cold water. The reaction product filtered off and washedacid free. The hydroxy derivative thus obtained dyes artificial (acetyl) silk in green shades.

-- Example 22 I 5 parts of the product of Example Bare charged into a'melt consisting of 100 parts antimony trichloride and 50 parts anhydrous aluminum chlo-. ride, which has been heated to l10-120 C. The melt is stirredfor hour at -120" C. and. 3 parts of the chloride of alpha-chloro-beta-anthraquinone carboxylic acid are-added. The mass is stirred for 2 hours longer at -135 C., and is then poured'into 500 parts of 10% hydrochloric acid. The precipitate is filtered off at 80 90? C. The filter cake is washed with 100 parts hot 5 hydrochloric acid and then with hot dilute soda ash solution and finally withwateruntil alkali free. L The product thus obtained is purified by crystallization from sulfuric acid. Y According to the chlorine analysis, the prod-v uct appears to be a ketone involving one molecule of the initial dibenzanthrone derivative and one molecule of alpha-chloro-anthraquinone. It dyes cotton from a blue vat in greenish-blue shades, fast to acid and alkalies.

It will be noted that the compounds produced in Examples 12 to 22, although difiering specifically from the products obtainable in Examples -'1 to'11, have this one feature in common therewith that they are'all dibenzanthrone derivatives containing in their structure the configuration wherein- R stands for hydrogen or an alkyl group, and the numerals 12, 12' indicate the positions of the respective carbon atoms inthe dibenzanthrone molecule. 1

In theclaims below it should be understood that where I claim a new product, dyestuff or.

article of manufacture, I mean to include this body not only in substance, but also in whatever state it exists when applied to material'dyed, printed, or pigmented therewith.

I claim:

1. A transformation product of a mono-isoalkyl ether of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone, being substantially identical with the product obtainable by heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12 dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone in an inert organic solvent at a temperature. between and 220 C., in the presence of. an anhydrous alkaline agent. I v

2. A transformation product of a mono-isoalkyl ether of dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone, being substantially identical with the product obtain able by heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12 dihydroxy-dibenz anthrone in an inert organic solvent at a temperature between 170 and 220 C., in the presence of an anhydrous alkaline agent, and purifying the product by recrystallization from sulfuric acid.

3. A dibenzanthrone compound containing in its structure the configuration nucleus. 4. A dibenzanthrone compound whose nuclear structure corresponds to the following formula:

wherein R stands for hydrogen or the methyl group.

5 A transformation product of mono-isopropyl-oxy-monohydroxy-dibenzanthrone, being substantially identical with the product obtainable by heating a mono-isopropyl ether of 12, 12

"dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone in an inert organic solvent at a temperature between 170 and 220 C. in the presence of an anhydrous alkaline agent.

6. The sulfonation product obtainable by subjecting to sulfonation the product defined in claim 1.

7. The process of producing a dyestuff compound which comprises heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12 dihydroXy-dibenzanthrone in an inert solvent at a temperature above C. but

below that at which the initial material would undergo pyrolysis.

8. The process of producing a dyestufi compound which comprises heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12' dihydroXy-dibenzanthrone in an inert solvent at a temperature between and 220 C..

9. The process of producing a dyestuff compound which comprises heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12 dihydroXy-dibenzanthrone in an inert solvent and in the presence of an alkaline reacting agent, at a temperature between 170 and 220 C.

10. The process of producing a dyestufi' compound which comprises heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12' dihydroXy-dibenzanthrone above 150 C., but below the temperature at which it would undergo pyrolysis, in a high boiling inert organic solvent, andin the presence of an anhydrous alkaline agent and a high-boiling, heavy molecular alkylating agent.

11. The process of producing a dyestufl compound which comprises heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12 dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone in an inert solvent in the presence of an alkaline reacting agent, at a temperature between 170 and 220 C., and continuing the heating until a spot test of the reaction mass on filter paper gives a bluish-green coloration.

12. The process of producing a dyestuff compound which comprises heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12' dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone in an inert solvent and in the presence of an alkaline reacting agent, at a temperature between 170 and 220 C., and continuing the heating until the initial mono-isoalkoxy-mono-hydroxy-dibenzanthrone compound has been substantially converted into a product which is stable in hot concentrated sulfuric acid.

13. The process of producing a dyestufl compound which comprises heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12' dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone above 150 C., but below the temperature at which it would undergo pyrolysis, in a high boiling inert organic solvent, and in the presence of an anhydrous alkaline agent and a high-boiling, heavy molecular alkylating agent, and continuing the heating until the initial mono-iosalkoxy-monohydroxy-dibenzanthrone compound has been substantially converted into a product which is stable in hot concentrated sulfuric acid.

14. The process of producing a dyestufi compound which comprises heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12 dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone in an inert solvent at a temperature above 150 C., but below that at which the initial material would undergo pyrolysis, and recovering that portion of the reaction product which is stable in hot concentrated sulfuric acid.

15. The process of producing a dyestuff compound which comprises heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12' dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone in an inert solvent and in the presence of an alkaline reacting agent, at a temperature between 170 and 220 C., to transform the initial dibenzanthrone compound into a product which is stable in hot concentrated sulfuric acid, recovering the latter in solid form and subjecting the same to purification by recrystallization from sulfuric acid.

16. The process which comprises heating the mono-isopropyl ether of 12, 12 dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone in an inert organic solvent at a temperature between 170 and 220 C., in the presence of an anhydrous alkaline agent, to transform the product into a vat dyestuff of the benzanthrone series characterized by high stability in hot concentrated sulfuric acid.

1'7. The process which comprises heating the mono-isopropyl ether of 12, 12 dihydroXy-dibenzanthrone in an inert organic solvent at a temperature between 1'70 and 220 C., in the presence of an anhydrous alkaline agent, and a high-boiling, heavy molecular alkylating agent.

18. The process which comprises heating the mono-isopropyl ether of 12, 12' dihydroXy-dibenzanthrone in an inert organic solvent at a temperature between 170 and 220 C., in the presence of an anhydrous alkaline agent, and a highboiling, heavy molecular alkylating agent selected from the group consisting of ethylene dibromide, dichlorhydrin, monochlorhydrin, benzaldehyde, benzal chloride, diaryl-dihalogen methanes, and diaryl-dihalogen-ethane compounds.

19. The process of producing a dyestuff of the dibenzanthrone series, which comprises heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12 dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone in an inert organic solvent at a temperature above 150 C., but below the boiling point of the solvent under the particular pressure employed in the operation, recovering the resulting transformation product, and subjecting the same further to a sulfonation treatment, whereby to adapt the same for the dyeing of animal fiber.

20. The process of producing a dyestuff of the dibenzanthrone series, which comprises heating a mono-isoalkyl ether of 12, 12' dihydroxy-dibenzanthrone in an inert organic solvent at a temperature above 150 C., but below the boiling point of the solvent under the particular pressure employed in the operation, recovering the resulting transformation product, and subpoint of the solvent under the particular pressure employed in the operation, recovering the resulting transformation product, and subjecting the same further to aluminum chloride fusion in the presence of an aroyl halide, whereby to introduce aryl-ketonic groups into the dibenzanthrone nucleus.

22. The dyestuff obtainable by the process defined in claim 20.

OTTO STALLMANN. 

